Chapter 4

FOUR

Forrest

I'm panting and rage flows through my blood as Zane holds me back. A short knock sounds at the door, and then it opens. Sulien's servants wheel in breakfast, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room between the naked, or mostly naked, tired men. It creates a strange situation. It isn't that I'm above fighting in front of servants, but I'm hesitant to feed the rumors about the wild Fall Fae.

"Can you control yourself?" Zane asks softly, gaze flickering to the servant.

I hate that I suspect these men see me the way I see my father, and that they're completely wrong about me. But more than anything, I hate that right now I want to give into that dark and uncontrollable side of myself and just beat the shit out of the pretty Prince Sulien.

It takes everything in me to stand a little taller. To take a deep breath. But it's enough to calm me, if only by a little. Enough that I think I can look at Prince Sulien without wanting to break his bones .

My teeth grind together, and I manage, "I can if he can."

"Always," Sulien says, the fucker confident and smooth as always. Then he goes and slips into a pair of pants, which is helpful, I guess. If I have to fight him again, I'd prefer not having to worry about his balls slapping against me.

After a minute, Zane lowers his hands from me slowly, as if unsure of my word. Fuck him! My word as prince of the Fall Fae should be enough for him. Years, god damn years with these men, and they still see me as nothing but the enemy.

It's frustrating.

Zane takes a step away from me. "A temporary peace then?"

"As long as he starts talking," I grumble.

Sulien sends the servants away, and he and the rest of the men gather at the table in Sulien's room. I stand where we fought, clenching my fists so hard my palms hurt. That asshole Sulien needs to explain himself. What did he do to her? Why would he think she ran away?

"You going to start talking?"

Zane sighs. "Speaking over a meal could help."

"Or we could wait to talk until the testosterone goes down a few notches," Cobar mumbles.

I glare.

There's a light knocking at the door, and all of us turn to the sound once more, half expecting a servant to return with some forgotten butter. To my surprise, Lord Watcher Oakfall stands in the doorway, almost blending in with Sulien's massive oak door. He is one of the most ancient fae from the House of Memories, so old that, like the fae of legend, he once transformed into a tree and slept for many years. Now, he appears almost in tree form. His body is made up of intricate branches that twist and turn. Branches sprout from his head as well, and his shoulders and chest are partially concealed by green leaves.

"Lord Oakfall." Prince Sulien bows. "It's a great honor."

We all bow in turn, and he does right back. Technically, we're his superiors, but there are many fae who are ancient and powerful. Fae that should never be insulted. Lord Oakfall is among them.

"When word was spread about your missing bride, I came to help in the search," he says, and his voice is like the rustling of leaves on a windy night.

"We're appreciative of your time and effort," Frost says, his voice filled with awe.

I can't tell if the seriousness on Lord Oakfall's face is because of the situation, or because his wooden face can't change, but his presence changes the energy in the room. "I came to update you on the search."

Sulien and the other princes come to the door, waiting for Lord Oakfall to speak. Tension sings through us for a completely different reason now. Surely, a man like Lord Oakfall will have found something, right? A man who contains more memories than any other fae should be able to search them and find something that can help us now.

I swallow hard, waiting.

"Word has been sent out to the other three courts and all of the houses, as well as a request for help in our search. Suffice it to say, everyone in the realm is behind us. Their letters of support for Lady Cassia have been many. Although, we haven't heard back from the House of Death." Lord Oakfall's solemn expression remains in place. "Not that we entirely expected to."

The House of Death holds the most powerful fae in existence. It's said they do not keep a fae child unless they're powerful, which means their numbers are few. However, their powers and personalities are unsettling to the other houses and courts, and they don't like our company, so they tend to stick to themselves except for rare occasions. Their youth come once in their early days to our solstices, and that's only because of their desire to find mates. Not hearing from them was expected, even if a little disappointing.

"And what have we learned?" Cobar asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"The House of War has no information, but they have promised vengeance on whoever has taken her. They have sworn a thousand of their finest warriors to die in the lady's name."

War and death. Only to be expected of the House of War. If only they had information, too.

"The House of Wealth has paid for the finest of spies, but has learned nothing yet. As they wait for answers, they are having the finest gold and gems crafted into jewelry for the lady to be given to Lady Cassia on her return."

I desperately want to shout. Gold and gems? How fucking useful!

"What about the House of Cosmos? Is there nothing in the stars to go on?" Cobar asks, his frustration clear in his words, even though he tries to hide it.

Lord Oakfall gives a little bow. "The stars are misaligned, and the unique energy frequencies of the stars tell us nothing of our missing Lady Cassia. "

Sulien groans. He should. I suspect he's the reason this search is required in the first place, although I'm equally frustrated. How could she just disappear? The fae can move mountains, shift stars, bring storms or clear skies. We can bring wealth from the ground and speak to the dead. How is it that we can't find one missing woman?

"Does the House of Memories have any information?" Sulien asks.

It's a good question. The House of Memories is confusing. Even I don't entirely know how they work, but their most powerful fae can take memories from people and even objects. They can steal a moment with just a touch, some with even a look.

"There was one memory taken of use," he says, his tone wooden but powerful in that strange way that only someone from the House of Memories can speak. "See," he whispers, and the word rings with power.

A vision appears in my mind. It's of Cassia walking home. The memory is colored by the person watching her, their focus shifting from her to other things and back to her, but the sight makes my heart ache. She's wearing a long blue dress that dips low in the front and hugs her body in all the right ways. Her pale hair is left loose around her shoulders, cascading down her back and moving as she walks. Her hazel eyes are bright and her jaw tight, as anger and sadness dance in her eyes. She turns a corner, disappearing behind a building that I recognize as one from the human town. Then the memory is gone.

I blink and notice my hand is reaching out for her and drop it. "That's it?" I ask.

We have immense fae power at our disposal, and all we have to go off of is a human' s memory of Cassia walking home? It's not enough. We need more. How can we bring her back to us with nothing but this useless shit?

"Yes, that's all the information we have," Lord Oakfall says.

I shake my head, finding it hard to catch my breath. "That's not enough."

"Prince Forrest…" Zane has a warning note to his voice.

My eyes lock with Lord Oakfall. "We need more information. That won't help us get her back."

His brown eyes look almost sad as he studies me. "It is painful to be far from one's mate."

A terrible weight settles on my chest, and my eyes sting.

"We will keep looking for her. We will not sleep until she is found," he swears before turning and leaving, the door shutting behind him with a solemn sound.

The four of us stand, unmoving and silent. I can't look at Sulien, or I'll rip his throat out. This pain I'm feeling… having my mate far from me… He knows what caused it. He has some role in her disappearance. We're calling on all the resources of the fae world, and yet he holds information from us.

"Let's sit down and eat. No matter what happens today, we need fuel to handle it." Zane squeezes my shoulder gently, as if he can tell just how on edge I am.

That's one thing about the fucking Winter Prince. He might not like me, but he kind of gets me. Years ago, we came to an unspoken understanding that borders on a friendship. The same can't be said for the other two. Cobar likely treats me the same way he treats everyone he knows, and he's likable enough to get away with it, but it still doesn't mean he truly cares for me. And since everyone knows Sulien has the personality of an angry porcupine, people dismiss the way he talks to me, but I know deep down that he doesn't give two shits about me. It's more than the usual disdain he has for the world. He hates me.

I cared about that little until now.

Since we were toddlers, I feel like I've been trying to bond with these men. I thought they were just about my only chances of making real friends who were my equals. But no matter what I did, they didn't like me. Some part of me felt like I just had to keep being patient. But now that I have a mate, a mate I'll one day have children with, I don't care about Sulien's bad attitude. I just care what he knows about Cassia. She's my chance of having love and an equal partner, not these men.

I just need to find out what Sulien knows. What he did. And fix it.

"Shouldn't we–" I begin.

Cobar lifts a hand to silence me. "Let's be real, none of us have eaten or slept much since Cassia disappeared. We owe it to her to handle her search with at least some food in our bellies, so we don't make poor decisions based on an empty stomach."

He's right. I hate that he's right but he is. One of the first rules of survival is to eat and sleep. Otherwise, you're no use to anyone else. My father taught me that great lesson when I was five. He starved me and forced me to stay awake until I had some very vivid visions about dying from a broken heart and tried to eat a tree.

So, I'll eat. I'll eat and figure out what the fuck is going on.

Suddenly, I feel the iron demons trying to break through the barrier. The attack is so swift and so powerful that I stagger. The bastards try a lot of different things, yet nothing is worse than when they hit us hard and fast. But I simply grit my teeth and breathe through the pain as I funnel power to the barrier. Slowly, the pain eases, and their attack becomes useless against the reinforced barrier. I open my eyes to see the other men opening their eyes, looks of pain on their faces.

"They never stop," Cobar says, his words filled with exhaustion.

"And they never will," Frost responds, but there's no emotion in his voice.

I sit directly across from Sulien, and we begin to eat the banquet in front of us. Bacon, sausage, and ham are served alongside delicate eggs, soft breads, and pastries covered in cream and fruits. It's different from my food back home, but tasty enough to keep me going back for more.

Sulien's quiet and moody. Big surprise! He's been like that the whole time I've known him. As boys, Cobar preferred to dress in fine clothes, paint, fish, swim, and flirt with the girls. Frost explored, studied, and tended to awkwardly talk with anyone who would talk to him. But Sulien? He'd always had a massive stick up his ass. He'd play with us, fish, swim, and explore, but there was never a smile on his face. And rarely a moment where he let his guard down.

Did that scare Cassia away? His bad fucking attitude?

It's hard to wrap my mind around. I'm the one who's bad with women. I'm the one who's spent my time with all men, burping, farting, and trying to stab each other in the asshole with literal knives as a prank. The fact that I don't just mount women like a fucking animal while making bleating noises and trying to show them my colorful plume is a miracle.

What's his excuse? Was he too loved? Did he spend time with too many women?

I jab at the food on my plate, eating whatever gets speared by my fork, wondering why no one thought to tell me she really didn't want us… want me. Or did the rest of them know because they're like brothers? Is it just this stupid outcast who didn't know our woman might have run screaming from us? I bristle.

"Did you scare her away?" I keep my voice level, not wanting to provoke Sulien or myself into another fight. I want answers. We can fight any time.

Sulien slams his fork down and glares at me. "No."

Patience. Every fucking thing is like pulling teeth with Sulien. Play his game.

"Why would she run away then?" I glance around the table.

Cobar raises his eyebrows at me and shrugs, clueless. Zane furrows his brows and stares at Sulien, awaiting his answer. Okay, so I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't know. For some reason, that makes me feel a tiny bit better. And maybe, just maybe, the added pressure from the others will end in some real information.

Sulien pokes at his food. "I don't know."

I swear I could have tolerated any answer except that one. "Why the fuck don't you know?" I ask through my teeth. It's getting harder to keep my calm.

His free hand grips the edge of the table, but his voice remains level. "Because I don't know her as well as you all think I do."

There's something in his eyes. Pain. Guilt. Worry. Fear. Hope awakens inside of me. I'm cracking the asshole's outer shell. If I keep up, I'll have answers soon, if I strike soon enough. Hard enough.

"Maybe you hurt her then. Took her rejection to heart and put your hands on her?" I tighten my jaw, knowing this'll make him tick.

"I would never lay my hands on her or any woman!" he roars, slamming his hands on the table, making all of the plates and dishes clatter.

"How are we supposed to believe that?" I jab.

"Because even if you don't like me, you know me," he seethes.

I try to ignore the fact that I've never in my life seen him hurt a woman or even look close to hurting a woman. If anything, until Cassia, I'd never seen him really take an interest in a woman. Like most of us, every female was a hole to slam into and a face to forget.

But I've gotten to him, and I need to keep pushing if I want answers. "Come on, Prince Sulien, come clean. What other reason can you think of for a woman who was mated to four fae princes to leave of her own will?"

He makes an angry sound and collapses back into his chair. "Have you given any thought to the fact that she might have been scared?"

"Scared?" I huff. I don't think Cassia has ever been scared of anything in her life, if her attitude is any indicator. "Of what?"

He looks at me like I'm stupid. "Her life changed in the matter of ten minutes on the night of the Solstice." Sulien makes eye contact with each of us before continuing. "Until she matched with us, she thought she was a human. She'd worked as a maid in this castle until that day. And then, suddenly, she is supposed to marry four fae princes. "

I didn't consider what a huge change this would be to her life, maybe because it seemed like a good change. Being a fae was far better than being human simply because it elevated the position one could have, and becoming queen was the dream of every woman at the solstice ball. If it wasn't Cassia's secret hope, why was she even there?

"I don't believe that could have scared her," I scoff.

Again with the look. "She's not used to being on the same level as fae royalty. You all just expected her to be able to handle the idea of being with four fae princes?"

"Yeah, being rich and powerful is so awful," I tell him sarcastically.

Frost turns those pale eyes towards me. "Were you truly never afraid of ruling your court?"

I stiffen, my stomach churning. No part of me wants to remember how much I dreaded turning eighteen and suddenly being in charge of keeping the iron demons out of our kingdom. Or the fear I had of ruling and being as poor a ruler as my father.

"It was scary." Cobar's admission surprises us all. Not that he was scared, but that he was willing to say it. "Even now, sometimes, I wish I didn't have to channel my powers to the barrier around the kingdom. It's a lot of responsibility."

Silence stretches between us all for a long minute. A minute where we're probably all thinking about the days that lead up to taking over for our fathers. And then another minute where we're thinking about Cassia. The thing is, she doesn't have to protect the kingdom. The strength of our bond will make our fight easier, but we'll still be the ones doing the fighting. This shouldn't be scary for her in the way that us taking over was, right?

"She got four princes, it's a blessing," I say. "Anyone would be lucky to have us."

Sulien turns to me. "Did you really think talking about your dick and all the women you've been with would convince her to marry you?"

What? Is that what I fucking did?

I try to replay the moments we found out Cassia was our mate. In my stupid head, I'd just seen myself as a sexy prince and her as some maiden grateful to have me. I'd pictured how smooth I was and what a great impression I'd been making on my future wife. But then my perspective starts to adjust, seeing Cassia as a woman worried about marrying me.

He's right. Dammit. I led with my dick. That's not how you talk to your wife and the future queen.

I could have been softer. Fuck. I didn't think at all whenever I was around her. I was so busy trying to impress her that I didn't stop to think how she was actually feeling.

If she ran, I don't blame her. I'd run too.

We all manhandled her at the solstice. The way I chased her down to touch her… I cringe now thinking about it. Anyone would be terrified by our actions. Then, add the idea of being forced to marry us on top of that? I'm nodding now in understanding and disappointment. What the fuck did we do?

"Do you think she ran?" I ask Sulien one last time, already knowing what I believe.

Seeing everything through her vision, she'd be smart to run. No sane woman should want to marry a man like me, but if she would have just given me a chance, I would have shown her differently. I would have been the best husband she ever imagined.

But she wasn't willing to give me that chance.

I hate myself.

After a moment, he sighs. "My gut says she didn't run away."

"What makes you say that?" I ask, feeling like the lowest of the low.

"She'd never leave her family. They're all she has, and not marrying us would ruin their lives."

I frown. "Ruin their lives?"

He looks at me like I'm stupid. "If she doesn't marry us, they stay living a life of poverty. And since she was the only one working, the future for her grandmother and father would be bleak."

I remember her talking about a lack of food in her house and hadn't put it all together. Damn it, I'm an idiot. The worst part is that whether she agreed to marry me or not, I'd have taken care of her family. Even without her, meeting them showed me they were good people. I wouldn't have allowed them to go hungry. And the fact that they are tied to her? That makes them my family too, whether or not she marries me. She's my mate forever. It's that simple.

"But are you sure that would be enough motivation for her to stay?" Cobar asks, looking concerned. "Did she maybe see this as an opportunity to run from all of her responsibility?"

Sulien shakes his head, a slight smile on his lips. "She loves them more than she loves herself. She might want to escape her marriages, but she'd do anything for them."

And the way he says it, I believe him.

So, she could've run, and she had every reason to run because of us, but she probably didn't because she's loyal to her family. I can see that about her. I believe that about her.

Zane clears his throat, drawing all of our attention. "Do you think she only wants to marry us just to help her family?"

It's like a punch to my gut. Wait. No. She's our mate. She has to feel this overwhelming connection to us. The need to be by our side has to be as great as our need to be by her side. She can't only want to marry us for her family's sake.

Suilen runs his hands through his long black hair as if frustrated. "Possibly. But she also might just need time to process all these changes."

Gods, I hope so.

"She's our mate, guys. She should be feeling awful like we are because she's connected to us," Cobar reminds us, speaking my thoughts aloud.

My shoulders droop. That's what should be true, but nothing about any of this is making sense.

"And what if she's not? What if she's not feeling the mate bond the way we are?" I ask, speaking my thoughts aloud.

Apparently, we all had the same thought because no one leaps to deny my words. We just sit in silence for a few minutes, looking like shit. Feeling like shit. Four men who have barely crawled out of bed, after barely sleeping and barely eating, yet nothing we do brings our bride back.

"Regardless," Zane says, then clears his throat awkwardly. "What's most important is getting her back, and it may help us figure out how to find her if we know whether she left on her own or not."

"Sulien says she wouldn't have left her family," Cobar offers, glancing at Sulien.

The other man nods, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"So if she didn't run away…" Zane begins, "You realize she might be out there somewhere hurt. She could need us."

That's been in the back of my mind this whole time, and it pisses me off that we still haven't found her. Hell, it scares me that we haven't. As upsetting as the idea is that our woman has just ran away from us, it's even more frightening that she might not have.

I let out a shuddering breath. Our mate is lost, and we're back at square one: no progress and no closer to having her in our arms. Surely if there's a worse way to be tortured, I don't know what it is.

Sulien clears his throat. "Though, all isn't lost yet. I have an idea about how to find her. It just might cost more than we ever imagined."

I glance at his solemn face. More than we imagined? Perhaps, but not more than we're willing to pay.

Then he proceeds to tell us the most insane idea I've ever heard. One that we'll do. For Cassia. But only because it's our only chance.